The aim of this research was to determine the effects of sandplay therapy on the anxiety, attachment relations,
and interpersonal stress of children with alcoholic fathers. The subjects were 20 children from low-income
families with alcoholic fathers who were suggested by teachers at two local children’s centers in Cheonan City in
South Chungcheong Province and two centers located in Pyeongtaek City in Gyeonggi Province. The Korean
version of the Children of Alcoholics Test (CAST-K) was administered, and among children with 12 points or
higher, ten children were chosen as the experimental group and ten children were chosen as the control group.
Sandplay therapy was only conducted with the experimental group. The counseling involved a 40-minute session
per week for a total of twelve sessions, including pre- and post-tests, from November 2012 to March 2013. The
sandplay therapy program was administered on a one-to-basis by two sandplay therapists. To verify the changes
in the pre- and post-test levels of anxiety, attachment relations, and interpersonal stress of the experimental and
control groups, a non-parametric test of Mann-Whitney’s U test and Wilcoxon’s signed rank test was
conducted. The results of the study indicated the effectiveness of sandplay therapy in reducing anxiety,
improving attachment relations and reducing interpersonal stress, and the potential of being an effective
instrument for therapy.
초 록 [영문]
The aim of this research was to determine the effects of sandplay therapy on the anxiety, attachment relations,
and interpersonal stress of children with alcoholic fathers. The subjects were 20 children from low-income
families with alcoholic fathers who were suggested by teachers at two local children’s centers in Cheonan City in
South Chungcheong Province and two centers located in Pyeongtaek City in Gyeonggi Province. The Korean
version of the Children of Alcoholics Test (CAST-K) was administered, and among children with 12 points or
higher, ten children were chosen as the experimental group and ten children were chosen as the control group.
Sandplay therapy was only conducted with the experimental group. The counseling involved a 40-minute session
per week for a total of twelve sessions, including pre- and post-tests, from November 2012 to March 2013. The
sandplay therapy program was administered on a one-to-basis by two sandplay therapists. To verify the changes
in the pre- and post-test levels of anxiety, attachment relations, and interpersonal stress of the experimental and
control groups, a non-parametric test of Mann-Whitney’s U test and Wilcoxon’s signed rank test was
conducted. The results of the study indicated the effectiveness of sandplay therapy in reducing anxiety,
improving attachment relations and reducing interpersonal stress, and the potential of being an effective
instrument for therapy.